in the language of the dog, it is so rich and fruitful, that it would be enough of itself to fill a dictionary. Who can be insensible to the joy that this faithful servant shews at the return of his master. He jumps, he dances, he runs here and there, turns quick and lightly round his master, stops all at once; fixes his eyes on him, with the greatest tenderness; draws near him; and licks and caresses him repeatedly. Then, beginning his play again, he disappears, and returns dragging something after him; puts himself into all sorts of pretty attitudes; barks; tells every body how happy he is; and shews his joy a thousand ways. But how different are these sounds from those noises he makes at the sound of a robber, or those he makes on seeing a wolf. If we follow a dog in the chace, we see how he makes himself understood by all his motions, and particularly with his tail. How well adapted his signs are to the discoveries he wishes to make! This affords us an opportunity to admire the wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Being. What beneficent attention he has shown towards animals, in granting them the power to express by sounds their wants and feelings! From their organization, and the nature of their souls, it was impossible they should speak the human language; but they would have been much more to be pitied, and less useful to us, if the Creator had entirely deprived them of the power of making themselves understood. To compensate them for the want of speech, he endowed them with the address to communicate, by a thousand little ways, their feelings to one another, as well as to mankind. He has given them organs proper to produce and vary a certain number of sounds; and their make is such, that each species has particular and distinct sounds, by which they make themselves understood. In a word, the Creator has given as much force to the language of animals as their

nature would admit of, and all that the end for which they were created required. The langnage of animals consists only in a number of inarticulate and imperfect sounds. They have no ideas, but those prompted by their senses; because they are incapable of learning a methodical language. They only know objects by some qualities evident to their senses, to which all their judgments and comparisons are limited. As for us, we possess faculties in all respects much superior. We can rise to general notions, and separate the object from the qualities which distinguish it. We can, by means of an infinity of sounds (articulate and arbitrary), express all our conceptions. We can learn the connections which unite us to other beings, act in consequence, and thus ensure our happiness.

O Thou the Creator, what gratitude do we not therefore owe Thee! Grant that we may never forget this important part of thy blessings; but, on the contrary, that each time we make use of speech, we may reflect on the excellence of our privileges, and the greatness of thy wisdom and goodness.

MAY XXIII.

The greatness and number of the Creatures on the Earth.

LORD, how great and numerous are thy works! We owe this testimony to the works of God. If we only knew those which the earth contains, how great is the extent of this globe, the abode of so many different nations! Mankind occupy vast domains; and yet how many solitudes and deserts are there, which have never been inhabited by man! Neither does the land, taken in the whole, fill near so great a space as

the sea, that prodigiously extensive element. But if the earth in itself is an example of the greatness of the Almighty's works, we cannot cast our eyes on the creatures it contains, without admiring the number and variety of them, In the first place, we find innumerable sorts of stones, minerals, and metals, concealed in the earth; then, what astonishing variety among the trees, the plants, the fruits and simples, which cover its surface! Notwithstanding all the pains that have been taken, to observe and class the different sorts of vegetables, it has never been compassed, nor will all the future efforts of naturalist arrive at it. Let us next consider the living creatures. What immense variety of them there is between the eagle and the gnat, the whale and the gudgeon, the elephant and the mouse! The disproportion is prodigious, and yet the whole space between them is filled with living creatures. The animal species come so near one another, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the other; yet the species is so multiplied, that, from the gnat to the elephant, they form a sort of chain, in which each link holds by the preceding one. In seas, lakes, and rivers, on the surface and in the bosom of the earth, there is no place, which, some way or other, does not contain a living crea ture. Yet, however great the number may ap pear of the animals visible to the naked eye, they cannot be compared to the number of those which are too small to be seen without a glass. By the help of the microscope, almost incredible discoveries have been made, of which all may be convinced. There, in some measure, a new world presents itself, which was before utterly unknown. to us. There, such living creatures are seen, that imagination itself can scarcely form any thing so extremely small, since one of them is not near so large as the millionth part of a grain of sand. And it is not only their number and variety, it is also

the beauty and delicacy of their form which ought to strike us with astonishment. What appears dull to the naked eye, or even what escapes it entirely, if it is seen through the microscope, has an inconceivable lustre and delicacy. Gildings which art cannot imitate, shine in the smallest grain of sand, but, particularly, in the limbs of certain insects; on the head, and in the eyes of a little fly: and in the construction of the lowest of living creatures, their exact symmetry and admirable order is observable. We find, in a word, that millions of creatures, so small that the eye can scarce distinguish them, but by the help of glasses, have, notwithstanding, as per. fect an organization in their species, as the greatest animals with which the earth is peopled. Such considerations must give us a lively sense of our own littleness. I lose myself in this innumerable multitude of God's creatures, who would be sufficient to witness his greatness, though I, and millions such as I, had never existed.-O Almighty! how immense is thy dominion! In every element there are beings whom thou hast created and preserved. Each grain of sand is a dwelling for insects, who are also in the class of thy creatures, and are links of the immeasurable chain. Here my ideas are lost in infinity. The more I reflect on the greatness and variety of thy works, the more I feel the limits of my understanding. I heap number upon number, and yet I can scarcely find a sum which comprehends the number of thy creatures. It is impossible to determine it. We have only to admire and adore.

MAY XXIV.

Spring is an Emblem of the frailty of Human Life, and an Image of Death.

AT this season, we need not go far to seek images of frailty and death: they present themselves on all sides, being connected with almost every beauty of nature. Undoubtedly, the Crea tor's design, in this respect, was to remind us of the uncertainty of the things of this world, and to repress the dangerous propensity we have to place our affections on objects so vain as all those in nature are. Spring is the season in which the plants receive a new life, and at the same time, that in which most of them perish. Serene. as the days in spring are, they are often suddenly obscured by clouds, rain, and tempest. Some. times the moon appears in all the lustre of its charms: then, before the sun rises to mid-day, its splendour, which had flattered us with the hope of fine weather, disappears. Sometimes, also, this hope is fulfilled, and the days of spring shine in full beauty. But how transient are those serene days! How swiftly they pass away! They va nish, even before we have well enjoyed them. It is thus that the best of our life flies away. Of. ten, in the morning, every thing smiles upon us, every thing promises us joy and happiness; but, before evening, nay often before noon, we meet with vexations and shed tears of sorrow. Let us look back on those days of our youth, which we may call the spring of life. How short have been the pleasures of our youth! how great the variety of pleasures we enjoyed! But where are now those happy moments, those ravishing delights? What is become of that constant spright. liness, and those roses of youth, which were seen